colinwh-1

I was lucky in I was an admirer of Nikifor and in the mid 90's visited Krynica and the Nikifor Museum. I suspect the film echoes modern sentiment of his life and work, since in the town there was not the enthusiasm for his fame and the museum was somewhat lacking in content. However from the film I immediately remembered the town and its simple beauty, and spent an enjoyable week there. The film it is rather slow but does keep up a momentum; and shows how difficult the artist was to deal with by a bureaucratic society beset with vestiges of their own self importance, while having to openly acknowledge the status of a man previously held in ridicule. The acting is very fine, right down to the humanity of the two little girls, and there are significant small cameo shots such as the later dialogue in the scene in the town café which is typically Polish. Filming is also excellent. A memorable yet understated film.